Thursday, January 23, 2014

When we acquire a new piece of equipment, it is usually not possible to put off moving it, even when it's the worst possible conditions for loading and unloading. The Trolleyville collection is perhaps the best illustration of this; four years ago we were unloading six or seven cars in weather nearly as bad as the present "polar vortex". So by now we can handle just about anything.

Our Track Dept. recently acquired an ex-EJ&E tamper, as seen here, and it arrived this morning via Silk Road. Having been warned, I was dressed for the occasion, just like the other guys, and we went out to clean out the crossings and switches and generally get things ready to unload our latest acquisition.

The rear set of axles on this trailer can be moved back and forth, and for unloading, perhaps you can see how they are moved forward so the deck can be angled down, making it relatively easy to roll the tamper onto the track.

Helping on this project were Rod, Gerry, Mike A., Bob Olsen, Ralph from Silk Road, and me. The guys from Silk Road know better than to tamper with us and so... OK, OK, I'll stop!

And now that the crossings are clear, we'll be ready in case anything else shows up unexpectedly. You never know.

Then I could do more painting in our luxurious heated shop, where your nose and cheeks are always safe from frostbite. Four windows got another coat of paint on both sides. If these pictures look familiar, you must be imagining things.

Also, I unloaded the canvas for the 319 from the 810 where it had been stored. Perhaps some day when it's not so cold and windy I can get some help and unroll it to check the dimensions, and start cutting it. And I spent some time back in barn 8 working on the roof of the 319, as the sun was out and it was barely tolerable up near the roof. At least there's no wind chill factor inside the barn.

And here's proof that our friend Joel is as good as his word: three or four retrievers now in primer, waiting for finish paint. Having spare working retrievers in reserve will be a big help for operations. Thanks, Joel!

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The "Hicks Locomotive and Car Works" banner at the top is taken from original artwork of the company, which was in business from 1897 to 1911. The picture behind it shows the four restored CA&E wood cars at the Museum, starting with #309, which was built by the Hicks Locomotive and Car Works in 1907.

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